Ipswich School Committee Newsletter

I hope this newsletter finds you safe and warm as we traverse this long midwinter stretch. Ipswich Public Schools continue to bustle with activity both in and out of the classroom, from middle school dances to winter sports to student-directed one act plays. The School Committee is busy as well as we navigate budget season. We have heard from building principals and administrators on their needs for FY24. The budget is posted on our district website and we meet with the Finance Committee next Tuesday and Wednesday (March 7-8th) to further dissect the budget and answer their questions.

Last spring the Ipswich Public Schools had a comprehensive district review which was contracted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in conjunction with Massachusetts State Law. We received the full report in January and overall the results were very positive and showed many areas of strength in our district, as well as some areas for growth. We welcome this deep dive into our district and all of the feedback it provides as we work together to continually evaluate and improve our processes and education for our students. The district should be proud of the work we do, and we want to thank all of the teachers and staff who participated in interviews, uploaded documents, and had classroom observations as part of this review. See some highlights from the review below and a link to the full report.

I want to thank Greg Stevens for serving as School Committee Chair for the past year. His knowledge of finances and unflappable calm has served us well as we restart discussions and decisions related to an elementary building school project. Greg will continue on the committee and lead us through the budget season as the head of the Budget subcommittee along with his other committee duties. As newly elected Chair, along with Emily Cannon as Vice Chair, I will strive for continued collaboration with the public and making decisions that benefit all students. I keep a copy of our guiding principles close at hand, they are outlined below:

• Foster trust based on open communication with fellow committee members, other town boards, and the community
• Honor the responsibility to serve our students, educators and community
• Treat with respect the opinions and ideas of others who are equally invested in our community and its future

Thank you for supporting our schools!

-Kate Eliot, School Committee Chair

The School Committee is committed to addressing the needs of our aging elementary buildings in order to best meet the standards set out in the Ipswich Elementary Education Plan.

In January, the Committee held its second three-hour workshop to discuss potential options, and how they aligned with the priorities we identified during our first workshop.

Also last month, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), which partners with selected districts and partially reimburses school building projects, opened their Statement of Interest (SOI) submittal period. The SOI is a tool used to describe deficiencies in school buildings. We continue to support Dr. Blake as he prepares an SOI for each elementary building to be submitted by the April 14th deadline. Submitting an SOI for each school building allows for the possibility of a combined school, though at this time, no decision has been made on whether or not there will be consolidation.

An excerpt from the MSBA website (massschoolbuildings.org) summarizes the SOI selection process below:

“The MSBA considers many factors when looking at the totality of the SOIs including, but not limited to, the age of the building, the amount of space per student, the current and projected enrollment, the condition of the major systems of the school, the general environment of the building and the appropriateness of the building to the educational mission”

In 2022, the MSBA received 54 submissions; subsequently, 10 schools from 10 separate districts were issued invitations. In December, the MSBA will vote on which schools will be invited into this year’s competitive program. If Ipswich is selected, the MSBA will assist the district in evaluating all possible solutions in order to identify and proceed with a cost-effective and educationally appropriate solution.

I would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on the current status of our school buildings in the district. As you know, our elementary buildings are in pretty rough shape and the “new” Middle/High School is now 24 years old. We have reached a critical point in time with our elementary school buildings, and systems at the Middle/High school are starting to age as well.

In 2019, a Facility Condition Assessment was conducted by the town and school district. Results of that assessment suggest the following to bring our elementary buildings up to code:

Elementary Schools

The electrical systems are original to the buildings, and are not large enough or adequate to handle additional electrical loads. Many of the distribution panels are full or overloaded and parts/replacement breakers are no longer available. Our lighting systems are also outdated.

In terms of the plumbing, the water distribution systems are original to the buildings. In many areas, the fittings and fixtures are well beyond their useful life cycles and have many years of water mineral build up. A full replacement of the plumbing systems, domestic supply and sanitation water systems was recommended. Just last year, we had a toilet fall off the wall at Doyon and caused a significant flood. Additionally, neither of the elementary schools has any type of fire suppression system. Current fire alarm systems are outdated compared to today’s standards.

The heating and ventilation systems in both buildings are very much antiquated and have consistently required various repairs over the years. The hydronic piping is in need of upgrading as it is original to the buildings in most sections. The boilers at both buildings are due to be replaced, and repair costs continue to escalate. Neither school supplies any cooled air in any of the classrooms unless it is with window units, which adds to the electrical load demand and usage. The buildings struggle to remove humid stagnant air in the warmer months due to their current uninvent systems, exhaust venting, and again, lack of cooled air.

The roof systems on both elementary schools are in need of being replaced. Since 2020 we have spent over $120k in roof repairs alone between the two schools, and we continue to have issues as they continue to fail. In September, 2021, we performed infra-red scanning and had a roof analysis report follow up to determine all options, which was completed in February, 2022. Due to concerns with both roofs, our insurance carriers have limited our coverage and increased our premiums.

Any solutions to these identified problems do not add anything, change the educational spaces, or improve the learning environment for our students.

Middle/High School

In the Middle/High School building, we have had to replace the panel for the fire alarm system. We continue to have issues with smoke detectors and wiring attached to the system, resulting in false alarms; this past week there were at least two false alarms .

This building utilizes two enormous boilers to provide heat and hot water throughout the building. Over the past three years, we have had to make significant repairs to both of the boilers, and given their age, replacement parts are becoming difficult to find.

The roofing systems are also problematic with leaks occurring throughout the building. The roof covering the academic wings of the building is set to be replaced in the coming years. The building was poorly insulated when it was built, which has resulted in numerous repairs to systems due to freezing. In the coldest weather, the facilities department opens up ceiling tiles to allow heat to circulate and help combat this problem. Thankfully, we are able to keep up with other routine maintenance issues in the building and follow a preventative maintenance plan.

As you can see, there are significant issues with all of our school buildings. There has been considerable discussion in recent years about the future of our buildings and the current School Committee is examining ways to meet the needs of our students and our buildings.

Prepared by the American Institute for Research (AIR) in collaboration with DESE

In 2021, The Ipswich School District was selected to partake in a comprehensive review of all aspects of our schools and administration. A presentation slideshow summarizing the strengths identified as well as the areas for suggested improvement can be found here.

The entire review can be found on the district website at https://www.doe.mass.edu/accountability/district-review/nolevel/2022-0144.pdf.

The annual process of developing the school budget has been happening since November. Balancing the “needs” vs. the “wants” within our district is always a challenge given the financial constraints due to costs rising faster than revenues.

The vast majority of the school budget is funded through real estate taxes. This revenue increases each year thanks to proposition 2.5 (a state law allowing towns to increase their real estate taxes by 2.5% each year in an attempt to cut into cost increases) along with any increase in “new growth” (tax revenue generated by new real estate projects that year). Our district was also fortunate to receive the support of taxpayers last year when we asked for an operational override. The additional tax revenue provided by an override is necessary to cover the ongoing annual deficit that exists within the school budget. In the early years of an override, the school budget will appear to be overfunded. As a result, funds above and beyond what is required for the annual budget are returned to the school stabilization fund for future use in future years. As the years pass, and costs increase beyond revenue, that stabilization fund is used to bridge the gap. Eventually, that fund is exhausted and must be replenished.

In addition to revenue from real estate taxes, school budgets are also supported by funding from the State through the Chapter 70 Program. Massachusetts General Law assures “fair and adequate minimum per student funding for public schools in the commonwealth by defining a foundation budget and a standard of local funding effort applicable to every city and town in the commonwealth.” To accomplish this, the state uses a complex formula based on factors such as property values, income, demographics, and student enrollment to establish (1) each municipality's minimum spending requirements, or the “Foundation Budget”, and (2) the minimum requirements for each municipality’s share of school costs, which are funded by local property taxes. Chapter 70 funds then close the gap by providing state aid for the remaining amount. Towns with a higher percentage of low income residents and low property values benefit the most from Chapter 70 funds. Thanks to the Student Opportunity Act, additional funds from the State have been allocated to Chapter 70 to benefit school districts. Our leaders at the State House understand the struggles cities and towns face as we cope with the ever increasing costs to run our school districts and have committed more resources to help.

Unfortunately, revenue from real estate taxes and State aid still isn’t enough to provide for the ever growing needs of our school district. We are fortunate to have access to other “outside” funding sources from which we can draw each year. These accounts are funded in a variety of ways. Circuit Breaker funds, for example, represent amounts reimbursed from the State to cover a portion of our district’s Special Education expenses. Several of our positions within the schools are funded by grants. Some of our building repairs are paid for through the Town’s Capital plan and funds are withdrawn annually from our Choice funds. Athletic user fees, revenue from bus passes and Feoffees grants all go a long way to funding the programs and staff needed in our schools.

The FY24 Budget process has been challenging. School districts across the Commonwealth are seeing larger than average cost increases tied, in large part, to the same inflationary forces we currently face in our own lives. On March 7th and 8th, Dr. Blake and our administrative team along with the School Committee will present our budget to the Finance Committee. This is an annual process which allows the Finance Committee to ask questions of our group in a public session. The FY24 budget is also posted on our website for anyone to review. If you have questions, please plan on attending the March Finance Committee meetings or simply email the School Committee.